The one hope we have is Jacobs is 22 and may have a future. Thornton is 37 and doesn't.

Brandon Jacobs may well have a future. In 2012, Baseball Prospectus listed Jacobs as the #2 prospect in the Red Sox system. Jacobs had left hamate bone fracture in 2012 and, perhaps, that slowed his development and accounts for outlets such as Baseball America listing him as the #11 prospect in the Red Sox system in 2013. This article from the Springfield Republican says that Jacobs has had a recent uptick in his play that merited a promotion to AA Portland.

Jacobs does seem to strike out a lot, it's true. But, as the great Jim Palmer observed, you never know when or if a prospect in baseball finally figures it out. Getting an interesting prospect for Matt Thornton at this stage of Thornton's career is fine.